Peter and John: Complementary Servants of Divine Power

The partnership of Peter and John illuminates how Yahweh works through diverse temperaments united in purpose. Maclaren observes that these two apostles, 'principal members of the quartet which stood first among the Apostles,' needed each other precisely because they were unlike. Peter possessed 'practical force and eye for externals'—the man of action, the spokesman. John embodied 'more contemplative nature and eye for the unseen'—the man of inward vision, the silent assenter.…